


And Do I Help Them? (Yes, Indeed!)

by PamuyaBlucat, panpinecone



Category: Metal Gear
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Broken Bones, Cannibalism, Cruelty, Dehumanization, Eggs, Fishing, Gaslighting, Genital Torture, Grief/Mourning, Hatchlings, Hypnotism, Infanticide, Interspecies, Mental Breakdown, Multi, Mutilation, Needles, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Non-Consensual Kissing, Non-Consensual Voyeurism, Non-Human Humanoid Society, Ocean Sex, Oviposition, Pain, Paralysis, Pregnancy, Psychological Torture, Revenge, Stuffing, Suffering, Torture, Vore, Writing on Skin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-27
Updated: 2015-11-27
Packaged: 2018-04-28 13:46:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5092997
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PamuyaBlucat/pseuds/PamuyaBlucat, https://archiveofourown.org/users/panpinecone/pseuds/panpinecone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kaz has a vendetta against mers. Now that he's found the one at the heart of it, he's determined to set things right.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And Do I Help Them? (Yes, Indeed!)

**Author's Note:**

> AU where mers are commonly regarded/treated as little more than fish.
> 
> Many scenes contain potentially triggering material dealing with various themes. These themes include, but are not limited to: Forced (auto)cannibalism, mass infanticide, and widespread dehumanization.
> 
> "Huge thanks to PamuyaBlucat for putting up with my procrastination and unpredictable schedule, as well as for working out such an amazing fic with me." — panpinecone
> 
> "My first involvement in a fic and it's this problematic garbage. I'm so proud." — PamuyaBlucat

It was early in his career when Kaz heard the story of how Big Boss lost his eye.

Many would imagine such a tale to involve harrowing bar fights, elusive beasts, or even a freak accident. The truth, however, is rarely so spectacular as what the human mind can come up with.

So what _was_ responsible for the loss of Big Boss's right eye?

It was a common mer.

Years passed with Kaz working under Big Boss, in all senses possible. He’d often ask about the eye, completely drunk more often than not. Big Boss sometimes humored him enough to give him fabricated half-truths, but never anything definitive.

All the same, Kaz eventually earned his trust, and with it, Big Boss opened up to him more than ever before. He seldom spoke of his past, but each time he did, it was evident that his words were laced with sincerity.

But for all the anecdotes he recounted, none provided an answer to the mystery of his missing eye.

Enough time passed that Kaz forgot there was even a mystery at all. When at last he heard how it happened—straight from the man himself, no less—he could hardly believe his ears. Big Boss’s words rang honest and true, yet Kaz could still hardly believe them.

Hearing about the events that had transpired made Kaz’s insides churn in horror.

Mers purposefully attacking people? It was outrageous. And yet, the proof was there before him. Big Boss, eye clawed out by a mer he’d caught.

It was a fairly young male of the barracuda subset. Pale, barely yellow hair... A lithe, slender build... According to Big Boss, it couldn't have been entirely past its adolescence.

Rather than let itself be injected with the paralyzing agent, it had somehow managed to claw its way out of Big Boss’s net, flopping onto the deck and attempting to escape.

Big Boss had tried wrestling it into submission, and right as he’d finally gotten his knife in hand, the mer had brutally swiped at his face, tearing an eye from its socket.

It had been agonizing. Reflexes kicking in, Big Boss brought his knife down in retaliation. He didn’t care that the mer would be damaged, would probably die. The pain was simply too much, and before he knew it, there was a trail of blood leading overboard, accompanied by a loud splash as the mer returned to the ocean waters.

In spite of his gaping wound, Big Boss had neared the edge of the boat, and was left awestruck by the sight that met his remaining eye.

Surrounded by clouds of red spilling from the mer’s torn belly, another mer held up the first. It was a female with golden hair that shimmered around its head like a watery halo. Its larger frame allowed for easy handling of the near-unconscious male’s smaller body, and upon spotting Big Boss looking down at them, the female bared its jagged teeth and turned away, hurriedly swimming off while protectively cradling the male.

The way Big Boss told it, the mers’ display had left a lasting impression on him.

It left one on Kaz too.

_Mers didn’t know their place._

In their line of business, safety always had a special role. More often than not, it was at the forefront of decision-making. The nets, the injections, the ice beds: All of them ensured people’s safety. There were hardly ever cases of anyone getting directly attacked by a mer.

Not that it was unthinkable, but those incidents were few and far between, generally involving restless mers in captivity. It didn’t excuse their barbaric actions, but it certainly explained them. Though the attacks had always troubled Kaz, he imagined that _any_ animal kept within such a small enclosure would steadily grow wholly brutish.

But a freshly caught mer deliberately attacking— _injuring_ —a fisher?

No, something had to change. Mers needed to be shown the error of their ways.

And Kaz?

He was going to help them.

 

* * *

 

He was scouting locations when he spotted it.

Nearly an hour had passed when the mer swam into view, a male with nothing particularly special about it. It had silvery hair to match its silvery tail, making it a potentially high sell on the exotics collectors' market. At a glance, it appeared to be a barracuda type, currently unbred. Whether that was due to lack of a mate or it simply being between pregnancies, Kaz couldn’t be sure from the distance he was at.

Which was not to say that it couldn’t become aware of his presence; mer echolocation, combined with Kaz’s proximity, meant that the mer would have an easy time finding out exactly where he was.

Luckily for him, he’d long perfected the art of remaining still, and since mers were notorious for overlooking that which didn’t move, it was highly likely that he’d go unnoticed. As a matter of fact, the nearby mer seemed wrapped up in its own world.

Waiting? For what? Its mate? Kaz still had no idea if it even had one, but was glad for the extra observation time. He began thinking over his options as he watched it.

Barracuda mers were generally toxic, and though Kaz preferred market sales because of their guaranteed earnings, he was completely willing to sell elsewhere. Besides, there was always a chance the mer’s blood _wasn’t_ toxic. Not a high chance, but the potential paycheck made the hassle worth it.

It still hadn’t moved from its spot, silvery tail occasionally twitching. Kaz started to feel boredom setting back in.

And then another mer swam into view, a female.

So the male _had_ been awaiting its mate.

Or... Was it?

As far as Kaz could tell, it didn’t have a proposal scale on its chest, so perhaps a friend? Sibling?

For all his dislike of mers, some of their interactions were fascinating. He paid closer attention, eyes glued to the pair.

The yellow of the female's hair added a nice splash of color to the mers' otherwise completely grey design. Not nearly as in demand though.

The two seemed to be chatting, their vocalizations too soft to reach Kaz's ears.

Suddenly, both mers reached for their own tails, clawed fingers prying one of their scales lose.

A mating proposal?

So they were mates-to-be. Kaz’s interest was newly piqued. He’d seen mating proposals before, of course. He knew the mechanics of them, too. But videos and articles didn’t come close to seeing the same thing in person.

He resisted the urge to move closer, resigned to the fact that he’d need to remain still for the duration of what was to come.

The mers had each managed to rip free a scale, giving it to each other and receiving the other’s in turn. A moment passed while both mers looked their new scales over, occasionally exchanging quick glances before returning their focus to the scale in their hands.

Kaz held his breath, newly eager. His favorite part should be soon approaching.

Sure enough, the mers appeared to exchange a few words more, and then slowly closed the distance between them. As Kaz watched, the female reached out to grasp the male’s shoulders, keeping it in place.

They softly began to swish their tails, the motions making them rise up bit by bit, spinning around each other.

As they continued to spin, Kaz’s eyes noticed a detail that chilled him to the core.

An ugly, jagged scar ran down the male’s pouch. There was no way it came from another mer, only a human.

The fact that humans avoided injuring wild mers meant that it could only have escaped from a fisher.

Escaped after a scuffle.

_After taking the fisher’s eye?_

Kaz gritted his teeth, watching the mers’ mating dance.

A male mer, once young and blond, now mature and grey. A barracuda type, decorated with a scar.

The evidence all pointed to the male having taken Big Boss’s eye. The female only confirmed it.

It was the same mer. It _had_ to be.

A doubt surfaced to the forefront of his mind, temporarily overtaking the waves of anger: If these were the same mers, why would they only just have mated? _Years_ had passed since the incident. No courtship lasted that long.

Unless...

_Of course_.

The injury of the male’s pouch was bound to cause concern. If Big Boss had rendered it unable to carry roe to term, then there wouldn’t be a point in it mating. No point in it even having a mate at all.

Kaz grimaced.

That female was taking quite the risk. The male might never produce fry, leaving the pair locked into an arrangement befitting neither of them.

He supposed it served them right. Mating for life was an all-around bad idea.

Turning his attention back to the mers, Kaz saw that the female’s ovipositor was currently out, ready to transfer the eggs. The short tube had lined up with the bottom of the pouch, waiting for it to open, and the male’s hemipenes emerged as well.

A lovely pair if Kaz had ever seen one.

His mouth began to water. Hemipenes were a delicacy he’d tried before, albeit sparingly, but never barracuda mer’s. Finding ones that weren’t toxic was enough of a rarity that not even Kaz could comfortably afford it.

It really _would_ be splendid for the male’s blood to lack the usual toxins.

The mers continued to circle around one another, tails pressed together, and at last the male’s pouch opened up. Moving quickly, the female pressed closer, ovipositor just barely entering it.

Kaz lay still, watching the spectacle unfold before his eyes.

Over the next few minutes, he witnessed the female’s ovipositor pump the pouch full with thousands of eggs, the hemipenes’ sperm entering alongside it. For all the material it contained, the pouch didn’t change its appearance in the least, remaining as flat and nonexistent as ever. All the while, the mers remained close, firmly clutching at the other as they mated.

As soon as the ovipositor and hemipenes began retracting, the pouch closed, finally sealing the concoction of eggs and sperm within.

The mers parted, exchanged a few words and touches, and with that, they were gone.

Kaz remained where he was, lost in his thoughts.

Barracuda mer gestation tended to last about six months. During that time, the pair would meet on a weekly basis. Always at the same location, always for short stretches of time.

Selling them on the market wasn’t an option, nor was finding a private client.

No, Kaz’s fury on Big Boss’s behalf would not be so easily appeased.

He hungered for revenge.

 

* * *

 

It took some time, but Kaz eventually worked out a plan.

Once he was back home, he calculated the dates of all the mers’ future meetings, as well as when the roe should be due, if the pouch was capable of it. If they _were_ sustainable, it would likely become evident by the third month.

Kaz was going to catch the male mer for himself, then do his best to instill it with a newfound respect for humanity.

As for what exactly that entailed...

If the mer wasn’t toxic, the pouch was healthy, and Kaz played his cards right, he could very well get himself some caviar out of the entire ordeal.

 

* * *

 

A week later, Kaz returned to the mers’ meeting place, settling down in the spot he’d watched them from before.

It wasn’t too long before the male showed up, chest gleaming brightly with the female’s proposal scale. The pouch remained flat, showing no signs of the life possibly forming inside its walls.

The male fiddled with the proposal scale as it waited, the fingers of its other hand running claws over its abdomen.

After a few more minutes, the female appeared, the male’s proposal scale also adorning her chest.

They immediately began to talk amongst themselves, but Kaz’s interest had waned. He’d managed to definitively confirm their meeting location, and that had been his priority.

He’d come again next week, and the week after that, and so on, until it was no longer necessary.

 

* * *

 

It had been two and a half months.

The male’s pouch was noticeably rounder, and the pair of mers couldn’t be happier.

Neither could Kaz.

He really wanted that caviar.

 

* * *

 

“Boss?”

“Mm?”

Kaz scooted over, laying a few open-mouthed kisses across Big Boss’s neck before murmuring, “I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“What kind?” asked Big Boss, lazily running a hand over Kaz’s side.

Pulling away, Kaz grinned down at him. “You’ll see,” he said.

Big Boss’s eye scrutinized his face as if trying to see straight through it, even while his own thoughts remained firmly hidden deep behind that single blue iris.

Kaz was used to it. He let Big Boss look his fill before elaborating, “I don’t have it yet. You’ll see when I do.”

The hand at Kaz’s side continued stroking, Big Boss letting out a noise of understanding.

Barely able to contain his excitement, Kaz lay back down, the plan running through his mind once more.

He wouldn’t trouble Big Boss with the mer. Not at first.

Revenge was something that Kaz was better suited to. Knowing Big Boss as long as he had, he could tell the man wasn’t one to drag things out, not the way they needed to be.

Kaz would deal with the mer on his own.

Its skull would make for the most perfect gift.

 

* * *

 

It was the final week.

The female ran its clawed hands over the pouch, tracing the taut skin but avoiding the scar.

_Big Boss’s mark._

The thing had worked like a bull’s-eye, leading Kaz straight along on his crusade against mers. What better way to start than by targeting the mer who’d helped him realize that such a crusade was necessary in the first place?

 

* * *

 

Ice in the bathtub. An array of knives.

Drugs, sauces, everything he needed.

Kaz was ready.

 

* * *

 

Setting the net was the easy part.

It was the waiting that set Kaz on edge.

He’d done all the mental calculations, had kept records of the mers’ meeting times, and knew he had an adequate window of time in which to act.

When the male at last swam into the designated area, it was all over in a matter of seconds. The net was hauled up, yanking the mer out of the water.

Perhaps out of shock, it remained completely still aside from the frantic rise and fall of its chest. However, as soon as Kaz approached it with a syringe in hand, it started half-heartedly writhing, hands held protectively around its swollen pouch.

The roe were almost due, Kaz was certain of it. Within a day, at the latest.

Acting quickly, he jabbed the needle into the mer’s tail, eliciting shrill screaming and forceful thrashing. Kaz ignored it, pushing the plunger down and watching as the drug entered the mer’s system.

Almost instantaneously, its muscles relaxed, hands falling to its sides and screams fading away. Its breathing slowed as Kaz watched, until only its eyes still darted around wildly.

His plan would go off without a hitch.

 

* * *

 

The mer watched him from the bathtub, unmoving and half-buried in melting ice. If Kaz focused on just its upper half, it could very well pass for a human.

A silver-haired, fin-eared human with fangs sticking out of its mouth, but a human nonetheless.

Kaz cast the observation aside, taking a steadying breath. It was the moment of truth.

He knew he was taking a chance in entertaining thoughts of an edible barracuda mer. In all likelihood, it possessed the natural toxins found in most of its kind.

But there was no harm in testing it.

“Let’s get your blood checked out, huh?” he suggested, crouching down beside it and reaching for an arm. Thankfully, he had several testing tubes left over in his toxicity kit, and placed one of them into the holder, aiming the needle at the mer’s arm.

As soon as the needle pierced its skin, a faint whine arose from its throat. Kaz tutted and pushed the tube down until blood gushed into the glass, filling it up in a matter of seconds. Nearly over before it began, the process still spurred the mer into writhing around as much as it could, whines ongoing. As weak as it was, none of its movement posed much of a problem for Kaz, who held its arm steady as the tube finally filled. Pulling the needle out, he cheerfully proclaimed, “There we go. All done!”

The drugs in the mer’s system also minimized any bleeding from the puncture, but all the same, it continued watching him warily. Thankfully, the needle's removal calmed it down enough to stop its persistent whines, and Kaz paid it no mind, focusing on the task at hand.

Toxicity tests didn’t take long. If he gathered up the kit and put it back in its usual spot, he should return just in time for fresh results.

“I’ll be back in a few.”

 

* * *

 

It was Kaz’s lucky day.

The very mer which had hurt Big Boss, carried thousands of eggs, and laid paralyzed in his tub...

It wasn’t toxic.

Kaz’s hunger deepened.

 

* * *

 

He prepared the second injection, smoothly jabbing the needle into the mer. Again, it voiced its discomfort in a barely audible vocalization.

“Shh, everything’s fine,” Kaz assured it, pushing another dose into its bloodstream and removing the needle. As soon as its arm was free, the mer managed to drag it back over the edge of the tub, emitting a sharp—albeit muted—yell.

Kaz sat back, triumphantly watching his meal-to-be.

The drug’s paralysis should remain in effect for a few hours, giving him sufficient time to set the table and ensure he had all the necessary supplies. Afterwards, the only thing left to do would be to inject the mer a third time before taking a short nap, ready for the meal of a lifetime upon awaking.

Of course, injecting a mer three times in the span of a day was bound to tamper with its physiology, but that hardly mattered in the long run, given its present situation.

No, he just needed to ensure that the mer would remain conscious throughout the process, and excess bleeding or pain would throw a wrench into that particular plan.

On the other hand, excess drugging would ensure the plan’s success.

Stepping out of the bathroom, Kaz turned to look at the mer one final time before flicking off the light. In the darkness, its faint red glow was visible, shining from the whites of its eyes and beneath each of its claws. If he squinted, he could almost swear the glow of thousands of roe shone from within its pouch.

It was rare to see a surface mer’s bioluminescence at work. Granted, not many people kept them locked up in dark bathrooms, either.

Kaz shut the door.

 

* * *

 

It was time for the third injection.

Kaz barged into the bathroom, excitedly flicking on the light switch.

“It won’t be much longer!” he rejoiced, crossing to the mer and sticking the syringe into it yet again. Predictably, it let out a feeble whimper which Kaz was much too enthused to acknowledge.

Instead, he casually explained the situation. “I’m all tired out. Preparing for you was a lot of work, especially on an empty stomach!” He chuckled before continuing, “But I wanted to make room for you. I want to finish off as much of you as I can.”

He removed the needle and gave the mer’s hair a friendly ruffle.

“While you’ve been lying around doing nothing, I’ve been running around making all these preparations, and I need a break. See you in a bit.”

 

* * *

 

Moving a cold lump of meat halfway across his house was no small task, but Kaz managed.

Despite the mer being about his size, it was heavier than what he’d been expecting, likely because of the roe. After all, he’d never hauled around a mer this close to delivering.

All the same, Kaz got it onto the table, propping its back up against the wall.

“Phew, you and your eggs are pretty heavy. You must be dying to get rid of them!”

He grinned, laying his hands on the mer’s pouch and lightly pressing down, giving a low whistle. “Wow, these things are just about ready to come out, aren’t they?” he remarked, hands starting to trace the shiny skin of Big Boss’s scar.

The mer could do nothing but stare at him as he talked, letting out an occasional sound now and then. That was alright, Kaz didn’t need more from it during their impromptu lesson.

Time and time again, studies had shown that mers possessed the ability to understand human speech tone. In that case, as long as Kaz kept his tone friendly and helpful throughout their encounter, the mer should eventually be able to realize the significance of what he was attempting to teach it.

Opening his mouth to explain, he noticed the mer staring over his shoulder. He turned his head and was met with the sight of his framed photo of Big Boss.

“Oh, right. You recognize him, of course,” he said, looking back to see the mer doing its best to smell the air. Big Boss’s scent must be hard to miss, especially given the activities he and Kaz had partaken in within the house.

Within the room, even.

Sure enough, the mer’s eyes soon widened in recognition, a soft noise leaving it. Kaz grinned widely, flashing his teeth at it. “Yeah, you know what you did... So here’s how it is,” he spoke up, taking his hands off the mer, “I’ve already tested you and you’re fine to eat, so that leaves the question of how to prepare you.”

He absently stroked the mer’s tail as he carried on, “Barracuda mermeat benefits from freshness, so I’m going to make you the freshest you can be. Don’t worry about it though. Nothing’s going to hurt, that’s what all the drugs were for.”

Hand stilling, he watched the mer’s apprehensive gaze for a moment, then smiled warmly before picking up one of the nearby knives.

“Let’s get started.”

 

* * *

 

Kaz had thought long and hard about the order in which we would exact revenge.

Taking its roe was a given. The hemipenes were definitely something Kaz wouldn’t pass up on. Its meat? Of course.

But how to start?

Eventually, he settled on its scales. Holding onto them for later use seemed like the thing to do, but it also wasn’t enough. He needed to bring the mer down a notch or two.

And then he thought of the proposal scale, firmly planted on its chest, fused to the sternum beneath. He’d always found the science behind proposals to be off-putting. Chemical breakdowns welding a lifelong mate’s scale down to the bone?

What kind of animalistic ritual was that?

Well, mers _were_ animals, so Kaz supposed it was fitting after all.

But never mind that, Kaz was eager to get started, stomach giving a weak grumble.

Knife in hand, he stepped closer, setting the back of it on the mer’s chest, below the scale. Gently, he scraped it upwards until the blade was neatly slotted beneath it, then angled it upwards and grasped it with his other hand, removing the knife.

Then came the tugging.

Each tug jostled the mer back and forth, and even in its paralyzed state, it softly flapped its fins, hissing like a punctured balloon. Kaz remained undeterred, continuing to pull for several minutes, until at last came the dull sound of something coming loose, and the mer was free of its mate’s scale.

Kaz slipped it into his pocket and scrutinized the mer’s chest. There was a gaping wound here the scale had been, but hardly any blood.

A job well done.

Still, he had no personal attachment to some other mer’s scale. No, he needed one of _this_ mer’s.

As a keepsake.

As a trophy.

Moving to the tip of its tail, again he began to scrape upwards, stopping at the first scale blocking his way.

This time, he met the mer’s eyes as he tugged, watching the change in its expression as the scale came loose in his hand. Even paralyzed, there had been a tenseness in its shoulders that had gone, leaving it looking resigned to its fate.

Kaz gave himself a mental pat on the back, congratulating his own planning and execution. But he couldn’t just leave the scale lying around, could he?

Trophies were meant to be displayed.

Not ten minutes later, the mer’s scale dangled from Kaz’s neck.

“Much better, don’t you think? And I can take it off whenever I want!” he said, setting up what he needed for the next step of the process. “Permanence is overrated.”

Picking up another knife, Kaz placed it at the pouch’s now-closed opening, then in one swift move, cleanly sliced the entire thing open.

The mer shrieked.

There were _so many eggs_.

Thousands clung to the pouch walls, and Kaz reverently ran a finger over them.

As he pulled it away, one of the eggs burst, leaving a newly-hatched, dime-sized merling on it. Kaz brought his face down, watching as it squirmed and wriggled and finally let out a squeak.

He slid it onto his tongue and pressed it to the roof of his mouth, savoring the watery taste.

Not even paralysis could stop the mer from emitting another loud shriek at the sight, sluggishly flapping the end of its tail.

“Needs some salt,” Kaz declared, using a spoon to start scraping at the eggs, freeing them from the pouch walls. Countless more burst during the process, leaving several merlings scattered throughout the resulting pile.

The mer’s shrill screeches blended into one continuous noise, easily fading into the background as Kaz went about preparing the mixture of roe and fry. He added a fine layer of salt, stirring until it had evenly spread, then paused to take in the sight on his table.

A barracuda mer, proud predator of the sea, lying paralyzed and helpless on his dining room table, entirely at his mercy. Its protruding teeth, sharp claws, refined senses… None of them had been able to save it from the fate it deserved.

The fate it was _meant_ for.

Satisfaction made its way through Kaz, dousing him like a shower of thick rain droplets, running down from his head to the soles of his feet. He was avenging Big Boss, doing the right thing. Everything was going to be perfect.

The caviar was ready.

Taking a seat, Kaz swallowed down a spoonful and groaned appreciatively.

A soft whimper escaped the mer, the little energy it possessed having been completely spent on its wailing. Kaz looked up from the squirming merlings before him, only to see it averting its eyes.

“Want to try some?” he asked, filling the spoon up. “It’s really good.”

His lips closed around the spoon and he slid it free, mouth filled with gelatinous orbs and muffled chirping. Merlings prodded at his tongue, but he kept it still against the onslaught.

Approaching the mer, he brought his mouth down to its own, using a hand to pull it open just enough to transfer over the mix of roe and fry. Digging his fingers into its jaw to ensure his safety, he used his tongue to push the food farther back, but the pile of squealing merlings refused to slide down its throat.

It seemed that the drugs had rendered the mer incapable of swallowing his gift. That was alright; Kaz had accounted for it. Some water should help wash everything down.

He returned from the kitchen an instant later, carrying a glass of it. Setting it down on the table, he eyed the desperate mer’s mouth. “Sure you can’t open that thing wider?”

Kaz’s hands went to the sides of its head, feeling around for a way to unhinge its jaw. His fumbling proved useless, only resulting in the mer whining intermittently, and he eventually settled on simply tipping its head back and pouring the water down.

“There we go. How was that? Pretty tasty, huh?”

He let the mer’s head fall forward, but to his complete and utter shock, saw tears streaking its face. Cupping its cheek with his free hand, he leaned closer and searched its expression for any signs regarding the cause of its distress.

“Huh? What’s wrong? Nothing should hurt, the drugs are still in your system,” he said, idly rubbing his thumb over its skin.

Nothing _seemed_ wrong...

Setting the glass aside, Kaz cradled the mer’s face, wiping its tears away and tracing the contours of its cheekbones. “Don’t cry... You cooked up an amazing meal in that pouch of yours,” he murmured.

Despite his reassurance, the mer continued taking stilted breaths, its closed eyelids doing nothing to prevent the continued fall of its tears.

“You know… For a mer, you don’t look half bad,” Kaz remarked, taking in its features. “Of course, it’s too bad your looks are the only human thing about you. Sorry, but I’m not into fish.”

He laughed and lovingly petted its head.

 

* * *

 

Kaz licked his lips, finishing off the last of the caviar.

“Ahh, mers... Nature’s greatest gift to the palate. My compliments to the main course as well,” he said, wiping his mouth with a napkin and casting a look down at the floor.

It was littered with a few eggs and the occasional merling, some still emitting nearly inaudible noises as they dragged themselves around.

Kaz picked up a knife, excitedly eyeing the red-eyed mer. “But I wonder what the rest of you tastes like,” he commented, standing again and trailing a hand up the mer’s tail, stopping just below its ruined pouch.

Another quick slice, some grappling, a few cuts, and Kaz’s plate was graced with the lovely pair of hemipenes that he’d seen once before.

Thankfully, the mer remained silent.

Pulling the soy sauce close, Kaz cut each hemipenis into bite-sized chunks. They were hardly big enough to warrant it, but delicacies were meant to be savored.

He dipped a chunk into the soy sauce and brought it to his mouth, slowly chewing away at the spongy texture.

He glanced up at the still-crying mer, newly certain of how to cheer it up.

“Care to try some?”

 

* * *

 

With the last of the hemipenes comfortably in his stomach, Kaz licked his lips in anticipation.

Time for the meal to _really_ start.

Knife in hand, he began scraping all along the mer's tail, reflexively squinting his eyes as scales began flying left and right. He had no doubt that they'd fetch a decent price if he went to the trouble of gathering them up. As it was, he wasn't about to set aside time for that _right now_.

Right now he had a mer to eat.

Finished with the descaling, Kaz cut away a large chunk of meat, plopping it onto the plate. A dash of wasabi later, his teeth were pulling a chunk of mermeat from his fork. Just a bit of chewing was all it took for him to let out a litany of pleased groans.

"Oh, you have _got_ to try this. If anything's going to make you realize how tasty you are, it's this," he commented, cutting away another piece for the mer. Standing up and moving to its side, Kaz forced it's jaw open. To his disappointment, he still couldn't get it to unhinge, but this would have to do. Grabbing the fork, he pressed it down onto the mer's tongue, ensuring that it wouldn't try snapping its mouth closed on his fingers.

Not that he thought it actually could. It seemed weaker than ever, and Kaz wasn't sure it'd live much longer. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry, so he kept the fork exactly where it was as he set the bite of mermeat into its mouth and used a finger to push it to the back of its throat.

He idly noticed that the mer's eyes were watering again. Letting out an awkward laugh, he said, "You're probably not that used to that kind of flavor, huh? My bad... But hey, you can't deny that meat's delicious, can you? That's _your_ meat. You ought to be proud of that!"

Pulling the fork away, Kaz stepped back to grab the glass of water, intent on refilling it to ensure the mer swallowed. "I'll be right back," he said, winking on his way to the kitchen.

He'd just filled up the glass when an idea sprung to mind, and upon returning to the table, he held both the glass and a marker. As he yanked back the mer's head by a fistful of hair, pouring the water down its throat, he explained, "I was thinking that there needs to be a more obvious way to show off what you are. You know, like a sign that announces it."

Setting the glass down, he waved the marker in front of its shimmery eyes and uncapped it.

"So then I thought... Why _not_ a sign?"

At the first press of the marker on its forehead, the mer let out a small yelp.

"Shh, it's just ink," Kaz assured, continuing his work. Sounding out the word as he wrote the character, it only took him a few seconds to lean back and survey the results of his brilliant idea. "There, all done! It's _perfect_. Hold on a second, I'll show you."

He took a quick trip to his bedroom and walked back to the mer, small mirror in hand. Angling it before its face, he watched in delight as the mer's eyes dramatically widened at the sight of the bright red lines decorating its forehead:

 

**肉**

 

"It means 'meat', which is what you are. Now there's no doubt about it!" he cheerfully explained, putting the mirror back on the table and sitting down.

"With that out of the way, don't you think it's time to chow down?"

 

* * *

 

Kaz enthusiastically dug into yet another slice of the mer’s tail, savoring the juicy flesh on his tongue and moaning anew. He’d had the pleasure of trying mermeat a few times before, but having the mer still alive as he ate it noticeably heightened the flavor’s potency.

As he continued eating, he’d seen the mer’s panic give way to anger, glancing up several times just in time to catch it baring its teeth at him. However, it still came as a surprise when he looked up to see it neither crying nor growling. Instead, its eyes were wide with curiosity, watching the proceedings down below. Kaz cut away yet another strip of flesh from its bones, expecting at least a flinch, but the mer continued watching him, breathing slow and steady.

It was a step up from how determined it had been to object to the entire ordeal, and Kaz happily went on eating with his newfound audience.

 

* * *

 

Scales littered the floor, the wasabi was almost gone, and all that was left of the mer’s tail were bones. Kaz gazed pensively down at the floor, where he amusedly noted that the merlings had moved to huddle around the fallen scales. Perhaps they instinctively recognized it?

It didn’t matter. What _did_ matter was that he still wasn’t full.

All the same, he was certain he’d just had the best meal of his life. Leaning back in his chair, he lazily massaged at his bulging stomach, giving the mer a content smile.

“See this? That’s _you_ in there. You’re so good.”

He was glad to see that the mer had stopped crying earlier, but was now overjoyed to see it answer Kaz’s smile with one of its own.

Then it fainted.

But that was alright.

The mer understood that it was nothing but food.

 

* * *

 

The heart was last.

Raw, bloody, and still warm.

Then all that was left was an almost-human body propped up against the wall, the ribs cracked open and organs spilling out.

Kaz had quite some work ahead of him. Refrigeration, cleaning...

He didn’t mind.

He was full.

 

* * *

 

It had taken him a few minutes, but Kaz had eventually gotten up and put away the mer’s remains. It was much lighter than it had been, but Kaz’s full belly made the task of carrying it seem just as strenuous as it had all the times before.

Taking it to his meat locker, he’d dumped it inside of a chest box and given little thought to how he’d go about preserving the skull for Big Boss.

He’d figure it out after some sleep.

After quickly wiping down the table, he’d taken a short look at the mess on the floor and decided that he was much too tired to do anything more.

He turned off the lights and went to bed.

 

* * *

 

Kaz awoke to the raucous sound of his bedroom door being thrown open, accompanied by the almost deafening screech of a mer.

He’d only just managed to open his eyes when he felt himself being flung from the bed and into the wall. Scrambling to orient himself, he took in a sharp breath of recognition at his first clear sight of the mer.

It was the second one, the mate, probably fresh out of the sea after crawling all the way to his house.

It must’ve followed the first one’s scent.

Its eyes glowed a faint red despite the moonlight flowing in through the window. Upon closer inspection, so did its claws, firmly embedded in Kaz’s mattress as it continued screeching at him.

He stood as swiftly as he could manage, slowed by sleep and fullness, but was no match for the mer lunging at him. Twice his size and clearly enraged, the female’s claws slashed at his side, sending pain and adrenaline coursing through him.

Putting the skills he’d gained from his sparring sessions with Big Boss to good use, Kaz twisted out from under the mer and began running for the doorway. Unfortunately for him, the mer’s size only meant that more furniture would be knocked over when it turned to follow him, agility unhindered.

In the span of a few seconds, he found himself toppling over, leg buckling under the strain of another set of claw marks down his calf. He flipped over, needing to put up as much of a fight as he could, even as his gut told him that it was too late.

Almost instantly, he felt agonizing stabs at his feet. A scream ripped through him as the stabs moved up to his kneecaps, audibly cracking them open. Kaz checked on the situation through the anguished tears blocking his vision, only to see the mer glaring at him with half his legs down its throat, needle-like teeth digging into them.

A whimper forced itself from his throat as he noticed the mer’s jaw was unhinged.

It intended to eat him.

Kaz instinctually renewed his struggles, prompting the mer to swipe its claws across his chest. He’d just begun howling out when the mer bit down again, crushing his thighs. Blood was rapidly pooling around him, staining both his floor and the mer’s teeth.

As it moved upwards, firmly lodging his hips in its mouth, he felt a dull ache run through him, setting his veins aflame. His hazy thoughts parted enough for him to realize that the mer’s natural toxins must’ve been transferred over when it bit him.

He had just enough time to feel the toxin’s excruciating effect when the mer—now possessing a firm grip on him—raised itself up on sinewy arms and wildly shook. Its tail toppled over what little furniture remained undamaged, but more importantly, it was aimlessly thrashing its head around.

By extension, Kaz found himself getting violently yanked to and fro, abdomen completely ripping open and intestines beginning to spill out. Thankfully, the mer slowed at that, but not before abruptly throwing its head back.

Kaz’s spine snapped.

In a way, it was almost a relief to lose all feeling below his waist. He didn’t have to feel his legs being squeezed along the mer’s moist throat, nor the spread of its toxins through his nether regions.

However, the loss also meant heightened sensations from his upper half. His burning torso, bruised arms, aching head…

The sharp sting of the mer’s teeth sinking into his ribcage.

As his lungs were punctured, his pitiful wailing turned into breathless croaks. The pain was too much; he was going to die.

Sheer panic raced through Kaz, nearly overpowering the feeling of his collarbones getting crushed. The sound of the mer gulping him down was clearly audible, and the toxins running through him only served to intensify the damning sound.

He knew there wasn’t much longer for him. Even so, he dreaded the mer fully swallowing him down.

As if reading his thoughts, the mer threw its head back once more, and Kaz cleanly slid down its convulsing throat, surrounded by hot breath and tight wetness.

After a few seconds, he fell into its cavernous stomach, knowing his fate was sealed.

The adrenaline still managing to pump through him fueled a strange sense of excitement. In spite of his fear, Kaz found himself entranced by the prospect of being eaten by a female mer.

There were worse ways to die, after all.

 

* * *

 

It was dawn when the mer made her way out of Kazuhira Miller’s house, dragging along the mutilated remains of her dead mate. Around her neck hung a scale matching the one on her chest, both from the same tail.

No mer would ever again trust her so long as she wore a scale the same way that humans did.

She would rather be ostracized than give up her mate’s scale.

It was a long and difficult trek back to the ocean waters, her belly full and her skin dry. Comparatively, the weight of her mate’s upper half was nothing. Returning what remained of him back to the sea was the least she could do.

Returning him to the sea, and ensuring he’d never again leave it.

The first touch of water revitalized her, spurring her towards finishing her journey. Newly determined, she crawled from the shoreline into the sea, accomplishing her first goal.

Beginning her downward descent, she cradled her mate’s corpse close, knowing the smell of it would attract nearby mers, to say nothing of the human blood billowing off of her.

Upon reaching the area where she and her mate had met so many times, she tenderly laid his corpse down on the seafloor, silently watching over it. She paid no mind to the approaching mers, knowing they’d stay to witness the ceremony.

Over a dozen mers were gathered by the time she was ready, all of them mourning her mate’s loss despite not having personally known him.

They mourned as a community.

Taking one final look at her lost mate, the mer let herself relish the thoughts of what they could’ve had. She let the thoughts soothe her, then let them wash away in the tide.

That future would never be, and nothing could be done to turn back time.

All that was left was to ensure her mate remained in the sea, accompanying her always.

She unhinged her jaw.

 

* * *

  

A week passed.

Kaz hadn’t shown up to work or answered any of his calls, so Big Boss took it upon himself to investigate.

The first thing he noticed when arriving at the seaside house was the open door. He circled the property a couple times, and at the lack of further clues, made his way inside.

The smell was instantly noticeable.

Something rotting. Rotted? He wasn’t entirely sure.

The scales littering the dining room floor caught his eye. Shiny and silver, they were easy to recognize.

Big Boss crouched down and spotted dried mer eggs. Closer inspection revealed dead merlings as well, and a picture began to form in his mind.

‘A surprise’, Kaz had called it. Big Boss hadn’t had any idea at the time, but now…

He moved to the bedroom, immediately spotting the wrecked furniture. It had to have been caused by some sort of struggle, but either there were multiple people involved, or one very big mer.

A female mer.

His suspicions grew stronger. Could it be? Could Kaz have gone out and found that mer from so many years ago? Found both of them?

If they were still together, then it was likely they were mates.

It certainly explained the eggs, at least. And if they were mates, then Kaz had likely captured the male, only to be followed all the way back by its mate.

Big Boss’s heavy steps took him back to the living room, where he spotted the meat locker’s open door.

Of course, she would’ve taken her mate’s remains with her. Taken him back to the sea, to their home.

Big Boss sat on the couch and leaned on his knees, holding his face in his hands.

“Kaz...”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by these prompts:  
> [panpinecone.tumblr.com/post/125316023978](http://panpinecone.tumblr.com/post/125316023978)  
> [panpinecone.tumblr.com/post/132062450483](http://panpinecone.tumblr.com/post/132062450483)
> 
> The title is a lyric from this song: [lyricsmode.com/lyrics/t/the_little_mermaid/poor_unfortunate_souls.html](http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/t/the_little_mermaid/poor_unfortunate_souls.html)
> 
> Includes some terrific art (and two bonus merfolk maker pieces) by the fantastic PamuyaBlucat:  
> [panpinecone.tumblr.com/post/125560497473](http://panpinecone.tumblr.com/post/125560497473)  
> [panpinecone.tumblr.com/post/125637120038](http://panpinecone.tumblr.com/post/125637120038)  
> [panpinecone.tumblr.com/post/126866880823](http://panpinecone.tumblr.com/post/126866880823)  
> [panpinecone.tumblr.com/post/131768487913](http://panpinecone.tumblr.com/post/131768487913)  
> [panpinecone.tumblr.com/post/132071659748](http://panpinecone.tumblr.com/post/132071659748)  
> [panpinecone.tumblr.com/post/125725515013](http://panpinecone.tumblr.com/post/125725515013)  
> [panpinecone.tumblr.com/post/125729850703](http://panpinecone.tumblr.com/post/125729850703)


End file.
